An Injection of Angst
by Amarielah
Summary: Title subject to change. Who do you need to cross over in order to make lighthearted cartoons like Xiaolin Showdown more serious? These drabbles answer that question. crossover with Evangelion
1. Part One: Meeting

An Injection of Angst

Summary: Title subject to change. Who do you need to cross over in order to make lighthearted cartoons like Xiaolin Showdown more serious? These drabbles answer that question. (crossover with Evangelion)

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion or Xiaolin Showdown.

A/N: Sometimes, usually when I'm listening to the OST or theme music from a particularly angsty anime, I begin to think of which characters from said anime would make the most impact on another (happier) fandom. In this case I was listening to Cruel Angel Thesis. Couple that with my current cartoon obsession, and this is what I got.

This fic is going to consist of a series of related drabbles, and some may not follow a particular order. The reason for this is due to the nature of this fic: plot is not paramount. Rather, this is going to focus on how our dear Eva character forces the XS folks to reexamine their beliefs, and the repercussions of this change in perspective.

Warnings: Nothing depraved enough for any real warnings (at least, not yet), but look out for the standard NGE psychobabble. If you don't like the idea of a happy-happy-joy-joy, not-taking-itself-too-seriously cartoon like XS being turned on its head, then this fic is not for you.

PS: Please ignore the sucky title, I couldn't think of anything else at the time of posting. I'll probably change it once I've gotten more of a feel for the story.

* * *

**Part One: Meeting**

Rei Ayanami was immensely confused.

Well, at least as confused as someone as emotional as her _could _be. So, what she was experiencing was more like a sense of startled puzzlement.

After all, even _she_ was not used to glowing portals appearing with seemingly no provocation, and subsequently transporting her to an unknown location.

She had just been going about her daily routine, and was, at the time of the mysterious apparition, heading towards NERV headquarters for her weekly sync test. As she had stepped through the front gate of her school, she had tripped uncharacteristically on a bit of raised pavement that she had failed to evade in a moment of dizziness. She had ended up with her nose just barely above the ground, and when she had looked up, the peculiar portal had been there.

And now she was suddenly here.

Wherever 'here' was.

She looked about at her immediate surroundings, taking in as much detail as possible. A few feet from her was a boy around her own age, with red eyes and pale skin very much like her own. However, where Rei's hair was a shade of pale blue, this boy's was a shock of red that was, very likely, unnatural. He was attired in virtually all black, with the exception of a few stripes of gray. A pair of strange, swirly, impractical-looking goggles held back his hair.

He was staring at her with his mouth hanging open.

The room that she was standing in was littered with bits of metal and plastic, in addition to a number of assorted tools. Rei guessed that it was some kind of workshop.

As she became more familiar with her new location, her eyes, which had widened slightly from shock, fell back to their normal size, and her face slid into its usual expression of indifference.

"It worked…it really worked…" the boy whispered in awe, his eyes raking Rei up and down like some kind of laboratory specimen. She found this action mildly comforting— it reminded her of the commander. "You—you're really here."

"Yes," said Rei tonelessly. "I am here."

He ignored her, his mind still focused in on whatever accomplishment he felt that he had achieved. He cackled with glee. "You weren't there a second ago, and now you are."

Rei thought that this was fairly obvious. "Yes," she said. "It appears that is the case."

He grinned widely, but still gave no indication that he had heard her. "That clinches it! My dimensional transporter definitely works!"

"…"

Her silence was what finally caught his attention, and he continued grinning as he looked at her once again, saying, "Hi."

"Hello," replied Rei.

His expression wilted ever-so-slightly at her deadpan greeting. "Uh…I'm Jack Spicer. What's _your_ name?"

She hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether or not to answer his question. However, after a second or two of deliberation, she said, "My name is…Rei Ayanami."

"So," said Jack, trying to regain some of his composure. It was clear that Rei was unnerving him. "Don't you want to know where you are? Or how you got here? Or WHY I brought you here?"

"No," she stated simply.

"Oh." Jack blinked in confusion. "You mean you don't want to know _anything_?"

"Your assumption is correct."

"So, is there anything else you want me to do?"

"Yes."

"_Really_?"

"Yes," she repeated.

"And what would that be?"

"Send me back."

Jack grinned once more, glad at the opportunity for some e-v-i-l. "Hah! You think that I'll send you back, just like that?" He crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head haughtily. "You're my prisoner, you know. If anyone is going to be making demands around here, it's me!"

His attempt to goad a reaction from her was futile. Her demeanor remained unchanged. "If that is the case, then I _request_ that you send me back. You are delaying the fulfillment of my purpose."

She once again caught him completely off guard—so much so that he blurted out, "I don't know how to." He slapped his hand over his mouth, but dropped it a moment later. He realized that it was already too late; he had already revealed the embarrassing truth. So he continued, "Send you back, that is. I haven't figured that part out yet."

Although he didn't notice it, Rei's eyebrows drew just a little bit closer together. "That is…inconvenient."

Rei had a talent for understatement.

* * *

A/N: Oh, poor Jack—having to deal with the enigma that is Rei Ayanami. And the poor boy is only going to get _more_ confused as time goes on. :P 

Mwahahaha! Let the transformation BEGIN!


	2. Part Two: Balderdash

An Injection of Angst

Disclaimer: I own neither Xiaolin Showdown nor Neon Genesis Evangelion.

A/N: Meh, more messing with Jack's poor, widdle head. Yay-ness.

* * *

**Part Two: Balderdash **

"What is 'evil'?"

Jack snapped his head up, lifting up the protective mask that he always wore when he was working with metal. "What did you say?" His tone was, mildly put, incredulous.

"What is 'evil'?"

The strange, blue-haired girl had been staying with him for the better part of three days, and during that time she had barely said a word. Even when she _had _spoken, it had always been a concise response to a question that Jack asked her. So the query was doubly perplexing simply for the fact that _she _was the one asking it. Jack suspected, in the part of his mind that he had set aside for his limited sensitivities, that she had to be _very _curious for her to make any kind of inquiry at all.

"What kind of question is that? Everybody knows what 'evil' is…" he trailed off as his features contorted into a frown. "…Right?"

"I have heard the word used, but I do not understand it."

By this point Jack was thoroughly confused, and the frown on his face was even more pronounced. This was saying something, as it took a great deal to upset the boy's balance when he was working with his machines. "_Don't understand it?_" How could that be? "And why do you want to know, anyways?"

The girl lifted her head from its place on top of her knees, shifting slightly before answering, "You often talk of how 'evil' you are--" in Rei-speak, 'talking' was synonymous with 'excessive ranting' "—as though being such is innately positive. However, in my experience, 'evil' carries a negative stigma. Thus, I must have come to the wrong conclusion."

Jack was seriously freaked now. So far, Rei had said a veritable sermon by her usual standards.

But she still wasn't done. "Please define 'evil'. I am very…" she struggled to find a word "…confused."

Jack blinked comically, taken aback. "You expect me to define _evil_?" he asked, voice thick with disbelief.

Rei looked slightly puzzled by this response, so apparently she _did _expect him to define it.

Jack sighed, pulled up a nearby stool and sat on it. He then bit his bottom lip in concentration. After a few moments he said, "Evil is…the opposite of whatever most people say is 'good'. Like, if people on the whole think that stealing is bad, then people who steal become 'evil'."

Rei cocked her head to the side. "Do you steal, Jack Spicer?"

"No!" exclaimed Jack, offended. "Of course not! What do you take me for?"

"But yet you say that you are 'evil'."

Jack flushed, realizing that he had overreacted. He had also only confused her more. "Okay," he said. "Let's try this again. You see, I have this big ambition to take over the world, right?"

Rei nodded.

"Right. So," he continued. "People in general view an ambition like that as something 'bad'. I also use unfair tactics while fighting for my ambition. It's because of that that I'm considered 'evil'. See?"

Rei didn't 'see'. "I…do not understand."

Jack sighed in exasperation. "I gathered." He stood up and made his way back to his work desk. He then flipped down his mask again and prepared to continue with his self-assigned task. However, before he could re-ignite his blowtorch, Rei spoke once more.

"Why is it that you wish to take over the world?"

Jack hesitated, completely at a loss for what to say. Why _did _he want to take over the world?

"Because I can." The reply sounded pathetic, even to him. "Why does it matter, anyway?"

"I have heard the proverb that states that 'the ends justify the means'. Surely that sentiment must hold some sway over what is defined as 'good' or 'bad."

Jack was bereft of a reply, and an uncomfortable silence filled the room.

Jack turned to his work once more.

Rei continued to watch.

And, as he began to weld together the parts of his newest creation for defeating the Xiaolin Dragons, Jack felt suddenly, inexplicably depressed.


End file.
